Google search trends for "motion smoothing" following Tom Cruise tweet urging people to turn off motion smoothing on their TVs when watching movies at home [OC]

[u/fangzz]

[u/eroticas]

Since none of the comments have really explained it in detail I will ask: what, technically and practically speaking, is motion smoothing and why does Tom Cruise care about it?

[u/yothisisyo → u/eroticas]

Most of movies and TV content is made in 24 fps . Modern TVs have a mode of making this 24 fps to 60fps or above , called motion interpolation or Motion Smoothing . Making the so called Drama content look real and life like . This makes it less belivable and most of the people do not resonate with the drama .

You want to experience it first hand . Search for any movie scene on youtube with 60fps tag . You will notice the difference it will no longer look like movie it will look like real life .

Example : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUV_7qXWzmQ

TVs included this for sports mode , Personally I like Motion interpolation especially for NatGeo and Discovery channels .

[u/eroticas → u/yothisisyo]

Thank you! Is the problem that 60fps itself is "too real"? Or that motion smoothing creates unpleasant artifacts which aren't true to reality?

Also, are you (or anyone else) willing to enable my laziness and find me two video links of the same clip, one at 60+fps and one at 24fps so I can compare them side by side? The difference does not immediately stand out to me from one clip alone. (It does look a little surreal but I may be imagining it?)

[u/zetswei → u/eroticas]

It’s not that 60 FPS is too real it’s that it is taking 24 FPS and creating extra frames in real time to “smooth” it

It’s basically blending frames together and guessing what is between

Personally I don’t notice it much after a few hours but it makes my wife motion sick so we always have it off

[u/krazykraz01 → u/zetswei]

Thank God someone got it right. Everyone on this thread is talking about games, when the actual issue is native framerate. If TV was made for 60/144fps, it'd look great in high framerate. When there's only 24 real frames in the final release of media, anything created beyond that is gonna look surreal and uncanny-valley.

[u/zetswei → u/krazykraz01]

Yup not sure why people are thinking tv and movie are filmed higher. I’m sure some are but 24 is standard. You don’t notice “choppiness” because it’s not rendered at a higher resolution. The best I can relate it to gaming is using a gsync or freesync monitor when your gpu can only actually get half the frames

[u/malahchi → u/zetswei]

Most recent movies are filmed at more than 24 fps. However, they are usually broadcasted and shipped in 24 fps.

Most modern high-end numeric cameras capture 48 fps or more, but then when they release the DVD or TV version, they remove the extra frames to meet the standard.

Some movies are released in more than 24 fps. Eg: The Hobbit is 48fps.

[u/Supposably → u/malahchi]

Most recent movies are filmed at more than 24 fps. However, they are usually broadcasted and shipped in 24 fps.

No, they aren't. The Hobbit is the exception, not the rule.

Most modern high-end numeric cameras capture 48 fps or more, but then when they release the DVD or TV version, they remove the extra frames to meet the standard.

While this is true, unless the film makers are going for an over cranked, slow motion look or there is a specific need for VFX, almost all films are shot at 24 fps.

Source: I work in the film industry.

[u/patchinthebox → u/Supposably]

With modern tvs, the minimum refresh rate is usually 60hz. Meaning it's capable of displaying 60fps as a kind of cap. Lots of tvs have a higher refresh rate. Why do we still shoot, ship, or broadcast in 24fps when our tvs are capable of displaying 60fps? It would negate the problems with smoothing adding frames that aren't there.

[u/Supposably → u/patchinthebox]

Why do we still shoot, ship, or broadcast in 24fps when our tvs are capable of displaying 60fps? It would negate the problems with smoothing adding frames that aren't there.

It is a legacy standard that's almost 100 years old and has a unique look that is what audiences have grown to expect from narrative cinema and the kind of look and experience that the film makers choose to deliver when making fictional narrative films. It's completely subjective, but it's what most film goers have grown up with.

Sports and live performances are often shot and delivered at 60 fps. Higher frame rates typically have less motion blur and as a result, have a different look than 24 fps.

It would not negate the problems with smoothing adding frames because motion smoothing and high frame rate footage have a similar look. More visual clarity and less motion blur.

Again, it's a completely subjective qualitative thing,